The world’s largest movie chain is still about $ 550 million from its fundraising goal.
On Tuesday, AMC CEO Adam Aron said the company had managed to raise just over $ 200 million out of the $ 750 million it needs to fund its cash requirements by the end of this year.
“We need to gather more, but we are working hard to do this and we have established a plan and a plan to get there,” he said. “Whether we get there or not, only time will tell.”
Aron’s appearance on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” comes on the same day that his company’s shares fell to a 52-week intraday low of $ 1.91 a share and closed at a record high of 1.98. USD per share.
AMC has been affected by the coronavirus pandemic and its actions reflect investors’ lack of confidence in the immediate recovery of the film industry. The company’s shares fell by more than 70% in 2020.
Cinemas were forced to close in mid-March and spent more than six months closed to the public last year. AMC operates about 400 of the nearly 600 theaters with limited seating capacity and shorter hours. Theaters in New York and parts of California remain closed.
The company is in the process of trying to renegotiate its rent payments with landlords and is looking for discounts, rebates and deferrals. If the company cannot provide additional sources of liquidity, it reiterated, it may have to go bankrupt.
AMC is not eligible for $ 15 billion in Save Our Stages grants, which is part of the much larger $ 900 billion coronavirus rescue package because it is a publicly traded company with more than 10 headquarters. states.
AMC went into a pandemic with nearly $ 5 billion in debt, which it accumulated by equipping its theaters with luxury seats and buying competitors such as Carmike and Odeon.
The company has already renegotiated its debts to improve its balance sheet and in December received a $ 100 million investment from Mudrick Capital Management.
“We cut our work,” Aron said. “We need to raise more money to get to the other side. Having said that, we’ve already done that four times and that’s our goal.”